Mistwoven Healer

I'll be honest, by this point, I'm fairly sure Kayne missed his true calling by becoming a sentinel. The man is an expert organizer, and I'm willing to bet that he would be the absolute best person to do a job like Kiley's.

The location of our new house is at the top of an opulent skyscraper near Silver Ridge and, actually, not too far from my old apartment. That's definitely a boon, although I wish it could be slightly closer to GDF Headquarters, but I'll take the travel time in exchange for the view.

This skyscraper is one of the tallest ones facing out over the ocean, meaning that the ever-present floor-to-ceiling windows have amazing views looking out over the harbor and the cerulean waves far, far below. Well, at least the windows by the entrance area do — we haven't exactly gotten in yet.

Apparently, moving into a house the same day you bought it is… well, not something normal people tend to do. Even the uber-rich, who have a ton of staff to help them, generally need time to organize things like moving transports. That isn't an issue for us.

After talking to my father and receiving his agreement — although perhaps a touch grudgingly — a group of seven sentinels descended on the apartment. My team members, Audrey, and Hayley were all happy to help me move out — Audrey having been able to convince Karma to pay for the whole endeavor rather quickly… somehow. And so, after I took the time to properly photograph my old home to remember it, everything from the refrigerator to my bed got dumped in various inventories to be relocated.

Weirdly, the most annoying things to move were the various small, innocuous things that people need to live. Pens and pencils, utensils, books, and other small things that you don't normally think about much during moving. These are much more of a pain because they won't just all go into the inventory at once — instead, forcing us to put them in one at a time. Unless Audrey reveals to us, we put them into some kind of container first. Thus, even with sentinels with superpowers, a bunch of boxes were still required to move house.

It takes us until near dark to get everything placed into our various inventories and to take a transport to the new location Kayne apparently purchased on our behalf. However, upon arriving at our new place, we're stopped by something none of us expected… a locked door.

"Try calling the realtor again?" I ask the increasingly frustrated Audrey.

"I've already called the damn woman six times!" she exclaims, glaring at the fortress esc closed door of the compound like it owes her money.

I wince; if this realtor woman doesn't answer and come unlock the door soon, I'm willing to bet that my new home won't have a front door for much longer. Strong this door might be, but no door I know of can stand against the might of a pissed-off A Rank sentinel.

Luckily, Dad quickly moves in to de-escalate the situation. "I'm sure that she will see our calls soon and send someone to unlock the door," he says placatingly, his ever-calm and kind demeanor even seeming to affect Audrey.

Dad was kind of an awkward joiner to our whole moving-out party, although he doesn't seem angry about the results of the trial, more just sad and conflicted. He does, however, fully support any action he believes will keep me safe, and when Kayne talked to him briefly about the reasoning for all of this, he was fully on board.

Yet, I can't help but notice how Dad now hovers closer to me through the proceedings, as if wishing he could scoop me up and take me somewhere far from any danger. It's the same behavior that both he and my mother demonstrated while we were living in the slums. I wasn't allowed to walk anywhere by myself or even go anywhere that wasn't carefully vetted by my parents.

When Mom passed, Dad's overprotectiveness for me became overbearing. Running to my side whenever I might cough for whatever reason, hovering near me whenever he was worried. I can't even say I blame him for it; losing Mom hurt both of us immensely, and I know my father is petrified of losing me, too.

And now, in Dad's eyes, at least, it must be happening again. I've almost died twice in the last weeks, and he's likely feeling increasingly helpless at the fact that I'm going to continue being thrust into danger.

I wish I could placate him — make him understand that this is something that I need to do and that I don't intentionally put myself in danger to make him worry. However, for now, I simply allow myself to be kept close and be protected, at least until it's time for me to fight again.

It will take time for us to find our new dynamic again, time to erase the worry my father has built up. I will do what I can to help with that… but I won't stop trying to save my home.

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts and figure out a plan for my current situation. Well, a plan other than Audrey flying to the realtor's house and getting the key personally.

However, I think that with the use of just a touch of my magic, I can solve this particular problem for us. I know I really shouldn't be using my magic at all here — just waiting for the key would be a lot easier — but I would like somewhere to sleep tonight, and my old room is all packed up in various inventories.

Moving away from the group, I walk along the hall leading up to the massive entryway to the rooftop compound. As I walk, I look around for something specific, an air vent.

The ventilation systems in most skyscrapers are all interconnected, and I'm willing to bet that if I can find one, I might be able to get inside the compound without a key. Obviously, I'm sure that the air going into the compound will be filtered and variously heated or cooled, but if I can get only a wisp of my mist inside, then I can use that as an anchor to teleport to.

Eventually, I find my desired air vent near the elevator bank we used to get up here in the first place. Pausing and glancing around, I notice that only Akari and my father detached from our larger group to follow me. Dad looks at me with a worried expression, but Akari clearly seems to know what I'm up to.

"You're sure you won't pass out again, yeah?" Akari asks as I stretch my hand up toward the air vent and allow mist to start pouring out of it.

Honestly, while I do feel a twinge of nausea, I doubt I can really do anything to hurt myself while in my rest state. Teleporting will be rough, but even if I do pass out, there won't be anything threatening to me in the compound.

"Pretty sure," I comment, mentally groping around in the vents with my mist. My connection to the mist improved during my ascension, making it easier to control and sense what's around it, but navigating the air vents without sight is still awfully confusing.

"Serena," Dad starts, putting a hand on my shoulder, "is what you're doing dangerous? We should just wait for a key; you don't need to risk yourself just to save time."

"No, it's not dangerous, not unless there's a volcora in the apartment or something," I say, distracted. I finally found a vent going in the right direction toward the apartment, and… yes, there is a filtration system blocking the way. Drat, let's see if I can get through it.

"She'll be fine, Mr. Solace," Akari says, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Serena can handle a lot."

Akari's words make me feel warm and proud. It means a lot that she believes in me, even for things as simple as this.

"Oh, you can drop the Mr. Solace, Akari," Dad says with a soft smile. "I think we've known each other long enough to lose the formality, no?"

At this, Akari looks flustered, but luckily, she doesn't need to respond.

"Got it!" I exclaim, having managed to maintain a thin veil of mist through the filtration system. Then, with an effort of will, I teleport.

I appear in an opulent living room beside a small foyer; I don't take the time to look around too much, though, as I instantly find myself curled around my stomach on the ground, groaning.

"Remind me… teleporting while sick is definitely not a good idea," I whine mentally to Celeste, who also used the same bit of mist to teleport with me.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Celeste lies down, curling up beside me. [You did know this was going to happen. Can you really say you would have done anything different if I warned you?]

"Yep…" I whine, "We could have gotten a hotel room… it wasn't that important to get in here tonight."

Despite my complaining, though, the nausea actually does pass quickly, and I stand up, looking around with wonder.

The living room I'm in is, at the moment, completely unfurnished. No couches, no chairs, just a large room with a massive window that looks out over the ocean. I imagine that, a few hours earlier, the view out this window would have been spectacular, with the sun setting and casting its final rays across the water. Although, the morning sun will shine right in here and will likely be blindingly bright.

Looking around the barren space, I eventually just shrug. To start with, we'll just have to deposit everything around where it should be and then move things around as needed. Too bad Kayne couldn't have found a place that was pre-furnished, but perhaps that's too much to ask for on such short notice.

Finally, having gotten my bearings, I head into the foyer and up to the large door. While the door looks like it's made of wood, I suspect that it's only wood paneling over solid steel. Places like this are meant to be among the most secure in Shinara, and breaking in simply wouldn't be possible without sentinel powers of some kind. Or… a lot of free time and power tools, I guess.

The unlocking mechanism for the door is a bit more complicated than a simple lock like in the old apartment, but fire safety laws ensure that it's not too difficult to get the door open from the inside — even without the key.

Eventually, I push the door open. Just in time to see Audrey, blazing pink with power, raising her fist to punch it.

I yelp and jump back, but Audrey quickly dismisses her power. "Hey! Don't break down my door! I thought you were going to go find the realtor?!" I exclaim.

Audrey shrugs, "Kayne wouldn't tell me her address," she complains, completely glossing over the fact that she was about to knock the very expensive door off its hinges.

"How did you get in?" she follows up.

"Mist through the ventilation system," I say, feeling quite proud of myself for thinking of it.

Audrey laughs, "Kid, I think I might have some work for you as a master thief after all this Volcora nonsense gets cleaned up. I can break into these kinds of places, but that would set off a ton of alarms. Every building on Earth will need some kind of ventilation system, though."

"She will do no such thing!" Dad exclaims, marching up to the A Rank sentinel, completely unintimidated.

Audrey rolls her eyes and gestures to the door. "Come on, kids. Let's go break into Serena's new place!"

Luckily, no breaking actually happens. Although we do very much enjoy exploring the compound in its entirety.

The place is absolutely massive, taking up over three floors of space and even having some spatially expanded areas.

From what I can see, the first floor is all about relaxing and hosting guests. Large living rooms and gathering areas with massive windows looking out over the ocean are interspersed with what looks like conference rooms and other meeting places. This floor also has a lot of the main amenities such as a dining area and fancy kitchen — although all missing things like tables and appliances.

Where the first floor is all about hosting and gathering people, the second floor seems to mostly be for private spaces. There is an absolutely massive master suite with two smaller guest suites — each complete with its own private bathroom and incredible views, although only the master looks out over the ocean. In addition to this, there are about a dozen smaller rooms, none quite as nice as the master or guest suites, but all are larger than my room back at our old apartment.

The bedrooms, however, don't excite me nearly as much as the other spaces. Connected to the master suite is a large space filled with built-in bookshelves, tables, and massive tablets built into the walls. This appears to be some kind of massive study or workshop, and I already have visions of all those bookshelves filled to the brim.

Interestingly, hidden between the master suite and the guest suites is what appears to be some kind of panic room. This is essentially a room hidden behind a wall panel that opens into a heavily reinforced metal box. The only reason we even found it is because the wall panel was left open.

Of the three, the third floor is definitely the most curious. Large rooms with more tablets like the ones in the workshop, what appears to be a mini medical room — although it's hard to tell with the furniture gone — and what appears to be a meditation room are the first we find.

On the third floor, only one room really interests me a great deal, simply because it's spatially expanded and has a glass roof, showing the sky overhead. This room appears to be some sort of massive garden area, although it also features a large staircase up to the roof that has its own heavily reinforced door at the end.

The roof itself isn't really anything special, although it does seem to be a nice place for both sentinels and transports to land, so that's nice, I guess.

Ultimately, the entire place seems really nice, but… well, it seems more like some kind of facility or something like that than a home. And so, I resolve to do my best to make it into one.

We start by taking the things from our old apartment from our inventory and placing them around the massive space. However, we simply don't have enough furniture to even begin trying to fill up the massive space.

By now, though, it's getting really late, and the others all need to get going. And so, the last thing we do is decide on rooms for those of us staying here.

"Dad will need the master," I tell Akari, standing in the hallway between the three main suites. "That means that we can decide between these other two suites. Do you have a preference?"

Akari shrugs, but Dad cuts in before she can say anything. "No, Serena, you will be taking the master," he says with a soft smile. "We're here because of your money and connections, and a guest suite is plenty fine with me."

"But-" I start, uncomfortable with the idea of Dad not taking the master bedroom. Sure, the workshop in there looks awesome, but I'm certain I could use it even if I was staying in one of the guest suites.

However, before I can put up an argument, Dad just smiles and walks into one of the two guest suites.

Turning back to Akari, I open my mouth to see if she would want the master — she's already dealt with the couch for so long after all — but she's already looking around the other guest suite. "Your Dad's right, Serena. Just take the master and don't whine about it," Akari says, although there's a smile in her voice.

I sigh, turning to the others. "Well, I guess we're done here then," I say, having the bedroom items in my own inventory. "Thank you all so much for your help!"

With that, Akari, Dad, and I find ourselves alone in the massive space, and after I place all the bedroom furniture, I find myself truly alone.

Honestly, I have no idea how I'm going to go about making this place into a home, although part of me feels like I've already started. What's important to me is that Dad and Akari are here with me, as that's what truly turns a set of four walls into a home, the people you share it with.

So, as I sit on my bed and look out the massive window at the ocean, I allow myself to reminisce about our old apartment. Both the good things and the bad. Yet, I'm in a different place in my life now, and perhaps a different physical location will be good for me.

I think for what feels like an hour, just staring out the window, until I hear soft footsteps behind me.

"You're just sitting in here, alone in the dark?" Akari asks, walking in to sit beside me on the bed and look out over the dark ocean.

The moon is coming up over the distant horizon, brilliant in its fullness. Its silvery light shining in through the window is the only thing that lights the massive space of the master suite — which is still empty of anything but a bed.

I look over at Akari, smiling up at her. "Just thinking," I say softly, turning my eyes back to the window. "It's hard for me to conceive of how far we've come in the last few weeks."

Akari nods, staying silent for a long few minutes as we both look out over the distant waves. After a moment, she appears to work up her courage and speaks again.

"Serena… I'm leaving," she says softly, making my heart skip a beat.

I turn to her instantly, "What? Where are you going?" I ask, unable to keep the desperation from my voice. I've become so used to Akari always being there; even with her only having been with us for a few weeks, I can't imagine a world without her.

"Nagano, and only for a few days, maybe a week," Akari says simply. "You remember my friend Candice, the one that I told you about? She and her family still live there. Shirakaze is a good deal north of Nagano, but with the northern front still buckling… I need to get her and her family safely to Shinara."

I nod, my fluttering heart calming down somewhat. She's not leaving forever; everything is still alright. "I'll go with you," I tell Akari firmly. By this point, I'm totally down to ditch school to go help Akari.

Akari shakes her head, "Reaver presence is very high in Nagano, and you still can't use your powers in the way that kind of fighting would entail. Otherwise, I'd love to bring you. I just… wanted to come talk to you before I left. Just in case."

"In case of what?" I ask, looking up at her with wide eyes. Even if it would be dangerous for me, I still want to go with her.

"In case I don't get to do this," Akari says, her voice incredibly soft.

And then… then she leans down and kisses me. My eyes go even wider, and my heart flutters in my chest, but hesitantly, I return the brief kiss.

Akari breaks it off, standing and turning away. "I'll see you when I get back," she says before walking out the door.

As her soft footsteps retreat down the hallway, I find myself feeling far too hot, touching my lips with confusion and… and more complicated emotions raging through me. A desperate part of me wants to run after Akari to talk about what just happened and… I don't know, see what happens.

Honestly, I probably would do that if I weren't so shocked. I… I didn't have any idea she felt that way about me, but I probably should have and… I find that I'm okay with it.

My entire perception of Akari flips in my head, and I find myself looking at our past interactions in a whole new light. I groan, putting my head in my hands. I really should have seen this coming.

And now… now I just have to hope that she comes home okay so that we can sort out whatever this thing between us is. Honestly, couldn't she have at least done this in the morning! How am I supposed to sleep tonight now!